Tell us what you think

We want to create the best possible experience for our learners. Your feedback helps us to improve the experience for everyone.

Exploring Actual Expenses vs. Allowance Limits

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to learn about actual expenses vs. allowance limits.

Daily Allowances vs. Actual Expenses - Overview

Employees must understand the difference between daily allowances and actual expenses compared to allowance limits. With daily allowances, employees are reimbursed a fixed amount regardless of actual expenses.

Actual expenses reimbursement requires tracking any amount over the regulatory limit. Properly managing these allowances helps in accurate financial reporting and compliance with contractual obligations.

Travel Expenses

A screenshot of the Travel Allowance Options configuration page in Concur Expense. At the top, the title Travel Allowance Options is shown with a subtitle stating, This is where you define how Concur will track travel allowances. Below this, there is a dropdown menu for selecting the country, which is set to United States. To the right of this dropdown are buttons for Save, Cancel, Activate, and Deactivate, with the Deactivate button highlighted in blue. Under the section Choose how your company uses travel allowances, there are two dropdown menus: one labeled Lodging, set to Actual expenses up to allowed limit, and the other labeled Meals, set to Daily Allowance. The Lodging dropdown selection is highlighted with an orange box for emphasis. Below, under Meals Options, there is a dropdown menu open, showing options for Not Used, Daily Allowance, Actual expenses up to allowed limit, and Actual expenses (with over-limit tracking), with the last option highlighted in orange. Additionally, there are checkboxes to Reduce the allowance when these meals are provided by other means for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, with Breakfast and Dinner checked.

Managing travel expenses involves accurately entering and comparing actual expenses against allowance limits. This process ensures that discrepancies are identified and addressed promptly. Employees must input their actual expenses into the system, which automatically compares these amounts to predefined allowance rates.

Accurate expense entry is crucial for effective travel allowance management. It helps maintain compliance with financial regulations. Proper entry also ensures that only allowable expenses are billed to clients or contracts, avoiding financial discrepancies.

If an employee's lodging expense exceeds the allowed limit, the system tracks the over-limit amount for special handling. This helps manage expenses efficiently and ensures that companies can address these issues promptly and maintain financial compliance.

Entering Actual Expenses

Employees must input their actual expenses into the system, which automatically compares these amounts to predefined allowance rates.

Comparing Expenses to Allowance Limits

Managing travel expenses involves accurately entering and comparing actual expenses against allowance limits. This process ensures that discrepancies are identified and addressed promptly.

Handling Over-Limit Expenses

If an employee's lodging expense exceeds the allowed limit, the system tracks the over-limit amount for special handling. These over-limit amounts must be carefully documented.

Over-limit tracking helps in distinguishing between reimbursable and non-reimbursable amounts. For instance, if an employee's lodging expense surpasses the government allowance, the excess amount may not be billable to a client and could be categorized as company overhead.

Next lesson